An analysis of end of life terminology in the carbon fiber reinforced plastic industry

While many studies and reviews into the practices conducted by industry and academia to recycle and remanufacture carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) exist, to date no investigation exists which regards the correctness of the use of terms recycling and remanufacturing. As such, this paper seeks to analyse the CFRP reuse industry’s attempt to recycle and remanufacture manufacturing waste CFRP and end of life (EOL) CFRP with an emphasis on the terminology used to describe these practices. Firstly, this paper presents a justification of the importance of using EOL terminology correctly; outlining the benefits and problems associated with using the correct and incorrect terminology. This paper finds that in the case of CFRP remanufacturing, terminology is being applied incorrectly and in the case of CFRP recycling, particular care should be taken when applying the term recycled to CFRP or stating that CFRP has been recycled. Further, this paper proposes new terminology (in keeping with EU directives) which could be adopted by industry and academia working in this area. This paper also finds that in the case of remanufacture, CFRP is incapable of being remanufactured

Manufacturing data for the implementation of data-driven remanufacturing for the rechargeable energy storage system in electric vehicles

Manufacturing industries are experiencing a data-driven paradigm shift that is changing how technical operations are run and changing present business models. Leveraging on manufacturing data from industries and digital intelligence platforms have become important in creating new forms of value. While extending the life of a product through the circular economy 3 R’s of reuse, re-manufacturing and recycling remains a technical and resource challenge for practitioners, optimizing the increasing forms and volumes of data presents a complementary and necessary challenge to the circular economy. This research aims to explore how the manufacturing data can inform remanufacturing parameters for implementing remanufacturing on the Rechargeable Energy Storage System

Incorporating remanufacturing into the end-of-life vehicles directive : current presence and the waste problem

Within the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) directive, various terminology and practices are outlined to ultimately divert waste from landfill, including reuse, recycle, recovery, treatment, prevention and economic operators. Remanufacturing terminology is not explicitly stated however. Further, leading global automotive remanufacturers, have recently agreed upon a collective definition of what constitutes automotive remanufacturing. With a view to establishing remanufacturing as a stand-alone process within the ELV directive going forward, this research analyses where remanufacturing is currently situated within the ELV directive, highlighting obstacles, with a strong focus on ‘waste terminology’, of directly incorporating remanufacturing into the ELV directive and presents guidance on incorporating remanufacturing moving forward. By ignoring the concept of waste, this study found that remanufacturing processes are generally classed under reuse, recycling and recovery terminology with remanufacturing also having a tenuous relationship with treatment facilities and economic operators. In addition to highlighting the issues caused by remanufacturing spanning across recycle and reuse terminology, by incorporating waste, this research also found that automotive associations definition of remanufacturing is not able to be incorporated into the ELV directive directly. A workable solution, taking both the objectives of the ELV directive and the view of the automotive associations into consideration, was however found, and is presented in this wor

The manufacturer's value chain as a service - the case of remanufacturing

Manufacturing enterprises globally have already largely adopted the product-service strategy into their operations. However, due to gradual commoditization of services, manufacturing enterprises will have to further extend this strategy. One possibility is for manufacturers to servitize, not only their final products, but also a part of their value chain, with the aim of increasing their long-term competitive advantage. In this article, the application of servitization to remanufacturing, as a set of operational and business competences and processes, is conceptualized. By offering remanufacturing as a service, manufacturers will create an additional revenue stream. The synergies created from integrating remanufacturing into an enterprise with a product-service system are scrutinized. The impact of offering remanufacturing as a service (servitizing) is then assessed from the perspective of the competitive advantage of both, the provider and the consumer of the service. Three main sets of implications are identified. The first is that the integration of remanufacturing into a product-service system could increase customer satisfaction through a larger service scope and higher service quality, while decreasing operational costs. Furthermore, it is shown that the higher the level of servitization, the stronger is the positive impact of remanufacturing. The second set of results shows that servitizing remanufacturing can substantially increase the competitive advantage of both the provider and the consumer. While the first two sets of results have industrially oriented implications, the third set constitutes a theoretical contribution through the proposal and conceptual validation of extension of the application of servitization theory. Finally, while the reasoning is of a conceptual nature, it is based on established theories and includes remanufacturing-related industrial cases as a basis for assessment